196 km S of Ambon, Indonesia

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake — a major event — struck near 196 km S of Ambon, Indonesia on January 27, 2006, at a deep-focus depth of about 397 km. An earthquake this size would have been felt strongly across the surrounding region; deep-focus earthquakes rarely cause major surface damage despite their size. 74 people submitted "Did You Feel It?" shaking reports to the USGS. Casualties, damage and the recovery depend on local building standards, population and distance from the epicentre — the news coverage, references and photos below capture what happened on the ground.